Friday, October 30, 2009

Destruction. It comes in several forms. There is the creative form of destruction, a concept first popularized in 1942 by economist Joseph Schumpeter (“Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy”). Originally creative destruction was an explanation of the dynamics of how entrepreneurial innovation can cause transformation, dislocation and destruction of older, more established enterprises. The compact disk replaced the 8-track tape, to then be replaced by .mp3 player. More recently creative destruction was reenergized by Foster and Kaplan of McKinsey and Company (“Creative Destruction”), more as a strategy for remaining competitive and thriving over the long term. Instead of, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, this is more like, if it ain’t broke, break it. Then there is the increasingly widespread destruction wreaked on the economy as a result of lending far too much to far too many for far too little for far too long; the subprime mortgage meltdown. Not creative at all. Destruction, creative or not, is painful, involving dislocation, discontinuity, job loss, bankruptcy and economic upheaval. Destruction brings change. Change is a pain. It is inevitable, though. And change may mean that you will have to tell someone a bit about yourself.
Please visit www.tellmeabit.com for further insight.

My niece was describing a recent job interview. She and the interviewer were graduates of the same university, so they ended up chatting about the alma mater, the football team, the professors they both had had. And in that chat, my niece told the interviewer a bit about herself.The chat is my favorite form of interview, probably because it is my most successful. However, I am prepared to tell a bit about myself in different ways. My most interesting (and least successful) version was the structured verbal questionnaire. I met with an Austrian businessman who had a set list of 18 questions that he was asking every interviewee. Just the facts, ma’am. I tried to embellish my answers, stray, engage in conversation but these attempts met with a stony stare, and we moved on to the next question. “Your connection has been lost….please try again later.”Sometimes, that is just how it goes when you are trying to tell a bit about yourself. It reminded me of a friend’s description of her Six Minute Dating experience*. Some of the men asked questions from a set list, some chatted, some about themselves, some about the women they met. It sounded like a great way for someone to get comfortable with telling a bit about themselves, to practice a ‘so, tell me a bit about yourself’ story, in some different forms.
For more about the "so, tell me a bit about yourself" story, please visit www.tellmeabit.com.

Although I have tried to make the “So, tell me a bit about yourself” workbook (at tellmeabit.com) as casual as possible (despite the great importance of the exercises), it is fun once a while to take a test like the following; this test has floated around the internet for quite a while:If all of the desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose?- Angel Food - Brownies - Lemon Meringue - Vanilla Cake/Chocolate Icing - Strawberry Short Cake - Chocolate Cake/Chocolate Icing - Ice Cream - Carrot CakeOk, now that you've made your choice, this is what Research says about you.
Angel food - sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.
Brownies - adventurous, you love new ideas, are a champion of underdogs and slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up, you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.
Lemon Meringue - smooth, sexy, and articulate with your hands, you are an excellent after-dinner speaker and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, but you have many friends.
Vanilla Cake/Chocolate Icing - fun-loving, sassy, humorous. Not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lack motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.
Strawberry Short Cake - romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people and can be counted on in a pinch. You tend to melt. You can be overly emotional and annoying at times.
Chocolate Cake/Chocolate Icing - sexy, always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.
Ice Cream - you like sports, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.
Carrot Cake -you are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends.
I often do these types of tests in reverse, reading the descriptions to find out which matches my own “so, tell me”, to find out what my favourite dessert is supposed to be. Apparently, I should like a chocolate carrot brownie, with a bit of ice cream on top.

Dogs are good listeners. Very receptive and not sat all critical. They will pretty much wag their tale at anything you say, depending on your tone of voice, of course. The family pet can be a great first audience for your ‘so, tell me a bit about yourself’ story. Try out your first draft on them….tell them the complete and unvarnished truth about yourself. Confide your weaknesses. Tell them your fears. Your dog will gaze at you adoringly.Be sure to work on your "so, tell me a bit about yourself" (tellmeabit.com) and polish it up before you tell a bit about yourself to someone other than your dog.

In the depths of the recession, a local radio station gave some of their unemployed loyal listeners a chance to come on the air in the morning and tell the radio audience about themselves, specifically with a view to finding a job. The station would also post their resume on the web site, for further information and reference. But, to me, the key was the chance to talk for three minutes about themselves, their history, skills, aspirations, wants. Why should I, as prospective employer, be interested in them? A classic “so, tell me a bit about yourself” situation. Some of the so, tell me stories were awful. It just hurt to listen to some of the people strangle the golden-egg-laying-goose that they had just been handed, to sledgehammer the silver tray upon which the goose was presented. Some were very good. These people had obviously spent some time and effort finding out a bit about themselves and were prepared to share. One in particular was not going to go off air until she had told us very clearly where to find her web site. In three minutes, she had managed to say enough to make people interested in checking out the web site. Brilliant. Given the situation, I think the key is not to make the host of the morning program pull your teeth. Rather, if you have three minutes to tell a wide audience about yourself, seize it. It is more than enough time to demonstrate what sets you apart and how you bring value to the table, to broadcast your "so, tell me a bit about yourself"
To learn more about "so, tell me a bit about yourself", please visit www.tellmeabit.com

Nassim Nicholas Taleb begins part 2 of his book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, with three technologies considered by many to have the most impact- the computer, the Internet and the lasers. All three, he contends, were unplanned, unpredicted and initially, unappreciated. Their impact is far reaching. Even those in deepest, darkest Africa, without a computer and access to the World Wide Web, have been touched by these technologies. So what is one to do, if the world is going to be dramatically changed by things beyond our vision and control? I have found one of the best strategies for coping with change is to stay flexible and adaptable. Sure, it would be great to be the rock in the middle of the stream, around which all change must flow however, look at what happened to such rocks as Sony’s Betamax, the Sony Walkman, Woolworths, Bombay Company, Circuit City and the Polaroid instant camera. Look at what is happening to Blockbuster’s video business. Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Certainly an individual, like a company, that knows its core values and abilities is well positioned to respond to change. In his epic 1960 article, “Marketing Myopia” (which is essential reading), Theodore Levitt cites the example of Dupont, which took its tremendous technical expertise at its core and met customers’ changing needs, growing the company far beyond nylon. If you are good with numbers, no matter what happens, you will still be good with numbers. It all depends what you do with this ability. It never hurts (in fact, I have found it certainly helps) to expand your core abilities. Continuous learning can be done either in school or out. “The school of life is always in session”, to quote Charles T. Munger, who is Warren Buffet’s partner in Berkshire Hathaway and one of the 400 richest men in the world. There is a side benefit of learning new things in that it is learning is itself a skill. As things change, it helps to pick up something faster than the next guy, Knowing your core will allow you to respond to change. Expanding your core will improve your ability to respond to change. Knowing your core abilities is at the heart of the “So, tell me a bit about yourself” exercise (at tellmeabit.com). It also helps to embrace change, but change is scary and not easily embraced. For an excellent article, see Dave Cheong’s blog at davecheong.com.